PENSION BENEFITS AND POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS OTHER THAN PENSIONS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Notes To Consolidated Financial Statements [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

7.PENSION BENEFITS AND POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS OTHER THAN PENSIONS

NUSCO sponsors a defined benefit retirement plan that covers most employees, including CL&P, PSNH, and WMECO employees, hired before 2006 (or as negotiated, for bargaining unit employees), referred to as the NUSCO Pension Plan. NSTAR Electric serves as plan sponsor for a defined benefit retirement plan that covers most employeesof NSTAR Electric & Gas, hired before October 1, 2012, or as negotiated by bargaining unit employees, referred to as the NSTAR Pension Plan. Both plans are subject to the provisions of ERISA, as amended by the PPA of 2006. NUSCO and NSTAR Electric & Gas each maintain SERPs and other non-qualified defined benefit retirement plans (herein collectively referred to as the SERP Plans), which provide benefits in excess of Internal Revenue Code limitations to eligible current and retired participants that would have otherwise been provided under the Pension Plans.

NUSCO and NSTAR Electric & Gas also sponsorpostretirementbenefit plans that provide retiree medical, dental and life insurance benefits to employees that meet certain age and service eligibility requirements (NUSCO PBOP Plans and NSTAR PBOP Plan, respectively). Under certain circumstances, eligible retirees are required to contribute to the costs of postretirement benefits. The benefits provided under the NUSCO and NSTAR PBOP Plans are not vested and the Company has the right to modify any benefit provision.

The funded status of each of the plans is recorded on the respective sponsor's balance sheet: NUSCO (NUSCO Pension, NUSCO PBOP and NUSCO SERP), NSTAR Electric (NSTAR Pension) and NSTAR Electric & Gas (NSTAR SERP and NSTAR PBOP). The NUSCO plans are accounted for under the multiple-employer approach and the NSTAR plans are accounted for under the multi-employer approach. Accordingly, the balance sheet of NSTAR Electric reflects the full funded status of the NSTAR Pension Plan.

The components of net periodic benefit expense for the Pension Plans (including the SERP Plans) and PBOP Plans, the portion of pension amounts capitalized related to employees working on capital projects, and intercompany allocations not included in the net periodic benefit expense are as follows:

	Pension and SERP
	For the Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2013		March 31, 2012
(Millions of Dollars)	NU		NU
Service Cost	$	26.6	$	15.3
Interest Cost		51.4		38.1
Expected Return on Plan Assets		(70.3)		(42.5)
Actuarial Loss		52.9		30.1
Prior Service Cost		1.1		2.1
Total Net Periodic Benefit Expense	$	61.7	$	43.1
Capitalized Pension Expense	$	16.7	$	10.6
	PBOP
	For the Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2013		March 31, 2012
(Millions of Dollars)	NU		NU
Service Cost	$	4.8	$	2.3
Interest Cost		12.8		6.2
Expected Return on Plan Assets		(13.8)		(5.6)
Actuarial Loss		8.2		5.5
Prior Service Credit		(0.6)		(0.1)
Net Transition Obligation Cost		-		2.9
Total Net Periodic Benefit Expense	$	11.4	$	11.2

		Pension and SERP
		For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2013								For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2012
				NSTAR								NSTAR
(Millions of Dollars)		CL&P		Electric		PSNH		WMECO		CL&P		Electric(1)		PSNH		WMECO
Service Cost		$	6.1	$	9.3	$	3.3	$	1.2	$	5.4	$	7.8	$	2.9	$	1.1
Interest Cost			12.1		14.2		6.0		2.5		12.8		14.8		6.1		2.6
Expected Return on Plan Assets			(18.5)		(22.0)		(7.7)		(4.3)		(17.5)		(16.5)		(6.7)		(4.1)
Actuarial Loss			14.1		14.5		5.5		3.0		11.9		15.7		3.9		2.5
Prior Service Cost/(Credit)			0.5		-		0.1		0.1		0.9		(0.2)		0.4		0.2
Total Net Periodic Benefit Expense		$	14.3	$	16.0	$	7.2	$	2.5	$	13.5	$	21.6	$	6.6	$	2.3
Related Intercompany
	Allocations	$	10.7	$	(2.0)	$	2.6	$	1.8	$	10.6	$	(3.1)	$	2.5	$	2.0
Capitalized Pension Expense		$	7.0	$	5.3	$	2.2	$	1.3	$	6.6	$	6.3	$	2.0	$	1.2

		PBOP
		For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2013						For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2012
(Millions of Dollars)		CL&P			PSNH		WMECO	CL&P		PSNH		WMECO
Service Cost		$	0.9	$	0.6	$	0.2	$	0.8	$	0.5	$	0.2
Interest Cost			2.0		1.0		0.4		2.4		1.2		0.5
Expected Return on Plan Assets			(2.5)		(1.3)		(0.6)		(2.3)		(1.1)		(0.5)
Actuarial Loss			1.7		0.9		0.3		2.0		1.0		0.3
Net Transition Obligation Cost			-		-		-		1.5		0.6		0.3
Total Net Periodic Benefit Expense		$	2.1	$	1.2	$	0.3	$	4.4	$	2.2	$	0.8
Related Intercompany
	Allocations	$	1.6	$	0.4	$	0.3	$	2.1	$	0.5	$	0.4

• NSTAR Electric amounts are not included in NU consolidated for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

For the NSTAR PBOP Plan, NSTAR allocates the net periodic postretirement expenses to its subsidiaries based on actual labor charges to each of its subsidiaries. The net periodic postretirement expense allocated to NSTAR Electric was $4.3 million and $9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. The three months ended March 31, 2012 amount was not included in NU consolidated.

Contributions: NU's policy is to annually fund the NUSCO and NSTAR Pension Plans in an amount at least equal to an amount that will satisfy federal requirements. Based on the current status of the NUSCO Pension Plan, NU anticipates making a contribution of approximately $203 million in 2013, of which $107 million is required to meet minimum federal funding requirements. NSTAR Electric anticipates making a contribution of approximately $82 million in 2013 to the NSTAR Pension Plan, of which $38 million is required to meet minimum federal funding requirements. Contributions are being made in installments and began in January 2013. For the three months ended March 31, 2013, NU contributed $35.1 million to the NUSCO Pension Plan, all of which was contributed by PSNH, and NSTAR Electric contributed $4.3 million to the NSTAR Pension Plan.

For the PBOP Plans, it is NU's policy to annually fund the NUSCO PBOP Plans in an amount equal to the PBOP Plans' postretirement benefit cost, excluding curtailment and termination benefits, if applicable. NU anticipates making $25.7 million in contributions in 2013. NU contributes an amount that approximates annual benefit payments to the NSTAR PBOP Plan. NU anticipates making $30 million in contributions in 2013, of which $7.5 million was contributed during the three months ended March 31, 2013.